Created by Wolfgang Schloegl ( E-Mail ) Updated Jan, 2020 2013-12-18 HISTORY NEEDS TO BE REWRITTEN: Important information on Toy Toni carded figure scam. German ESB General Mills 45-Back Cards: (Deutsche ESB Figuren) For the German release of the Empire Strikes Back Star Wars figures the cards were released by the German distributor General Mills with German text on the back. Collectors refert to these figures as General Mills figures. The German text reads "45 Aktionsfiguren zum Sammeln und Spielen mit Star Wars Raumfahrzeugen". Two variants of these card exist. The 45A variant has English text on the top: "STAR WARS ACTION FIGURES Collect all 45!", the 45B variant doesn't have that text anymore. Both have a 1982 copyright. Check the pictures above. A theory for the two variation is that the ones with this English text are from the early production runs and the text was later removed to better fit for the German market. For me it's astonishing that on my about 30 loose cardback from different sources from Germany I find no single card with this English text but on perhaps 1/3 of the carded figures I got from UK. This is something still to explain. The printing of the cards is glossy, they are factory punched, the front does not show the familiar Kenner logo in the lower right corner. Also there is an extended black area located below the ESB logo. The making of the cards is similar to the British Palitoy ESB cards. The front does not show any German writing, onyl C-3PO w/ Removable Limbs and R2-D2 w/ Sensorscope have German writing on the front. The German carded figures were produced in the UK together with the Palitoy and Netherlands ESB figures and later the Tri-Logos. Some German 45-backs (ESB and ROTJ) have also been spotted with Palitoy stickers on the back for the UK market, produced when the paricular English cards must have run out of stock. German 45-back "The Empire Strikes Back" Figures Not all figures listed have been confirmed so far to exist on German ESB cards. Check the table below for the definitely confirmed figures. There should be 45 different figures on German ESB cards: 43 from the 45 listed plus 4-LOM and Imperial Tie Fighter Pilot. It is unlikely that Jawa, Sandpeople, or Zuckuss were produced since no one has been found so far but who knows at the end? Please let me know if you have a proof of existance for any of these. So far it is reported by bazx that Jawa and Sandpeople were still distributed as US Kenner 20-backs at that time in Germany. The prices for German ESB cards vary widely. Rare figures easily fetch 4-digit Euro sums if they are in nice condition. Rare figure are indicated below. If for any chance you would like to sell any of these figures please let me know ;-) End of the 90s beginning 2000s Antoni Emchowicz / Toytoni in the UK had a lot of these figures for sale, all in near mint / mint condition. The figures he offered are listed in the table below (basically the ones that are not "rare"). It was a big scandal in 2013 when it turned out that Antoni had purchased a factory lot with many loose cards and bubbles. He then bought also loose figures and carded them himself. In the beginning all were original parts though. Later he made also his own bubbles. Check the link above in red for more detailled information and consider this when buying. No. on Card Name Confirmed? Rare? Toytoni had these? 10 2-1B   Yes (46) 4-LOM rare 3 AT-AT Commander   Yes 13 AT-AT Driver   Yes 42 Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (white hair)   Yes 42 Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (gray hair)   Yes 2 Bespin Security Guard (black)   Yes 23 Bespin Security Guard (white)   Yes 31 Boba Fett rare 20 Bossk (Bounty Hunter)   Yes 5 C-3PO (Removable Limbs)   Yes 39 Chewbacca   Yes 35 Darth Vader rare 44 Death Star Droid rare 14 Dengar rare 18 FX-7 (Medical Droid)   Yes 38 Greedo rare 36 Hammerhead rare 30 Han Solo   Yes 9 Han Solo (Bespin Outfit)   Yes 19 Han Solo (Hoth Outfit)   Yes 22 IG-88 (Bounty Hunter)   Yes 12 Imperial Commander rare 24 Imperial Stormtrooper (Hoth Battle Gear) rare (47) Imperial Tie Fighter Pilot rare 27 Jawa     16 Lando Calrissian rare 28 Leia Organa   Yes 26 Leia Organa (Bespin Gown)   Yes 15 Leia Organa (Hoth Outfit)   Yes 8 Lobot rare 29 Luke Skywalker rare 25 Luke Skywalker (Bespin Fatigues) rare 4 Luke Skywalker (Hoth Battle Gear) rare 43 Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) rare 33 Power Droid   Yes 6 R2-D2 (With Sensorscope)   Yes 41 R5-D4 medium Yes 7 Rebel Commander   Yes 21 Rebel Soldier (Hoth Battle Gear)   Yes 32 Sandpeople     37 Snaggletooth rare 34 Star Destroyer Commander rare 45 Stormtrooper   Yes 1 (Twin Pod) Cloud Car Pilot   Yes 17 Ugnaught medium 40 Walrus Man rare 11 Yoda (brown snake)   Yes 11 Yoda (orange snake)   Yes (48) Zuckuss     German 45-back "Return of the Jedi" Figures Six figures have been confirmed on German 45-backs where the logo has been switched from ESB to ROTJ and the copyright year changed from 1982 to 1983. Please tell me if you know others. Some of these figures occur with a tri-logo bubble instead of an ESB single or twin stem bubble. No. on Card Name Confirmed? Rare? Comment 31 Boba Fett        back rare From Jason Smith's page. (47) Imperial Tie Fighter Pilot back rare   1 (Twin Pod) Cloud Car Pilot back   This figure was available at Toytoni (see above). 6 R2-D2 (With Sensorscope) back rare Jason Smith reported this R2-D2 with German back side with Palitoy "Free Nien Numb" sticker. The front is in English though. 26 Leia Organa (Bespin Gown) back rare From Jason Smith's page. 43 Luke Skywalker (X-Wing Pilot) back rare Schabby reported this Luke in 11/2015. Description: Wolfgang Schloegl, Bobby Sharp, Christian Dzieia, Michael Schlauß, Michael Kukla, Jason Smith Photos: Wolfgang Schloegl, Antoni Emchowicz, Jason Smith (Mr. Palitoy) From the collection of Wolfgang Schloegl

Image Use Policy